New Believer: John

Tell me about your journey to faith in Christ?

“I grew up in a home that was Christian by name but we didn’t really live it out. My family went to church most days when I was younger but stopped, as I got older. They didn’t seem that interested. I didn’t have many friends at that time but that changed when I got connected to a few kids from a youth group that I ended up going to.”

What helped you the most to step over the line and make the commitment? ·

“I went to an event hosted by two local churches that would get me out of school for a few hours. At that event was the first time I really heard anyone talk about the saving work of grace and I new than that it was true.”

        

What has been the best part of becoming a Christ follower for you?

“The best part of following Christ for me is the freedom and the hope. When you stop to think about it there isn’t much about this world that is worth living for but God is defiantly living for and I never had that feeling before I came to Christ. The hope that comes with faith in Christ is amazing because you just know there is so much more.”

What has been the most challenging part of following Christ? ·  

“There is so much to learn. It seems like ever one you look at in the church has it all down and has been like that since day one but here I am having to pick it up from scratch. To add to that I come from a Lutheran background so the Pentecostal church seems a little different.”

What do you think is helping you grow the most in your faith? · 

“The friends I have have really helped me. I’ve been to a few events that have really help my faith come alive. The fellowship that I was missing out before I came to God has really made a difference.

What advice do you have for me in helping others like you to grow in their faith?

“Discipleship. Not just the stuff out of a text book that you do with someone for a few weeks but true discipleship where two people can form a deep and lasting relationship. I think missing that person is the only real thing that I feel like I’m missing at all so far in my walk.”

Write a reaction paper on what you experienced and learned from your interview. Each report should be at least 300 words and should be posted on your blog. Do not include the full name of the person you interviewed.

Response:

I think that John’s point about discipleship is an important one. I too went through a few generic programs that only last for a few weeks or for a summer. I always felt like the focus was to much on the material and there was never much room for a relationship to grow. When it comes down to it that relationship is more important that whatever the martial could be. First, it is important to have a person we can really get to know and see the work of Christ in, to have someone we can share the revelations of our time with God with, and someone we know will be safe to talk to if we are really struggling with a problem that would be hard if not imposable to tell someone we had only known for a few weeks. Seconded, Having that relationship in our lives will teach us how to disciple someone else when we are ready too. The “how do I do this?” will be gone or at lease diminished because we will have already lived through it. True discipleship is something I think is lacking in our church today and it is something I hope to have in my ministry.          

I think that John’s salvation is a good testament to faithfulness in God. The program that he came to Christ through was mostly being used by those who attended, to get out of school and that is even what John thought he was doing as well. The leaders kept it going however and they were able to reach him when it seemed Christ had no other avenues at the time into his life. As far as I know that program has having little success other than this one instance.

The leaders of the one of the churches youth group’s did a great job help John make new friends quickly. It didn’t take John long to feel at home and fit in with at least a few of the other students. This is a very important part of ministry. I think fellowship is one of the most basic needs that is not being met in our society today in or outside of the church. People are so quite to close themselves up in the groups they are apart. The youth leader picked put a couple and pretty much limited them to hang out with John at first so that relationships could be built.